Memorial Day event open
to Pearl Harbor visitors
The National Park Service is inviting the public to attend a Memorial Day ceremony at the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center from 7:45 to 9 a.m. next Monday.
The theme of the program will be "Honoring the United States Marine Corps 1775-2003." Survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor will participate in the ceremony. Admission is free.
The keynote speaker will be retired Marine Brig. Gen. Bruce Matheson, an aviator with the famed World War II "Black Sheep Squadron."
14 libraries open Saturday
Most public libraries will be closed Saturday through Monday in observance of Memorial Day and will reopen on May 27.However, 14 libraries will be open on Saturday: Hawaii State Library, Aina Haina, Manoa, McCully-Moiliili, Waianae, Waikiki-Kapahulu and Waialua on Oahu; Hilo, Holualoa and Kailua-Kona on the Big Island; Kahului, Kihei and Lahaina on Maui; and Princeville on Kauai. These libraries will observe the holiday on May 27.
Invited guests should arrive between 6:30 and 7:15 a.m. General public seating will begin at 7:15 a.m. The ceremony will be held on the back lawn of the visitor center.
Strict security measures will be enforced at the center. No purses, handbags, fanny packs, backpacks, camera bags, diaper bags, luggage or other items that offer concealment will be allowed.
The USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park offers baggage storage for items carry-on size or smaller at $2 per item.
There will be no transportation to the battleship memorial during the ceremony. A 23-minute documentary film and a Navy shuttle boat ride to the ship will be available from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A special boat tour around historic Ford Island also will be offered. Deadline for reservations is 3 p.m. Friday. Call 422-2771, ext. 128, to register. Leave a message with your name, number of people, local phone number and tour selection.
Officials of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl have announced traffic changes from Friday through next Monday.
They have asked tour agencies to avoid the cemetery.
To facilitate traffic, police officers will be stationed at three intersections: Tantalus and Puowaina drives; Puowaina Drive and Hookui Street; and Hookui and Awaiolimu streets. Left turns from Hookui Street to Auwaiolimu Street will be prohibited.
Within the cemetery, two-way traffic will become one way.
